A slow WordPress site doesn't just frustrate visitors — it directly hurts your Google rankings, since Core Web Vitals are now a confirmed ranking factor. Even a 1-second delay in load time can cut conversions by 7% or more.
Quick Overview
- Hosting quality — no amount of caching fixes a slow server response time caused by overcrowded shared hosting
- Caching — page, browser, and object caching so WordPress isn't rebuilding pages from the database every visit
- Image optimization — usually the single biggest speed win: WebP format, correct sizing, compression before upload
- Lazy loading, CDN, minification — the standard trio for cutting load time further
- Database cleanup — post revisions, spam comments, and expired transients quietly slow every query
- Core Web Vitals specifically — LCP, INP, and CLS, tested in PageSpeed Insights, not guessed at
- WooCommerce-specific tips — product page limits, fragment caching pitfalls
Full list of all 15 techniques plus a quick-reference checklist: Speed Up WordPress: 15 Proven Optimization Techniques
What's been your biggest speed win on a WordPress project?
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